Only five per cent of legal services clients find their solicitor or other provider through an advert, according to a recent government survey.
A further five per cent did an information search. However, three quarters of clients find their provider through the recommendations of family and friends (29%), past experience (23%) or referrals (23%), indicating that clients do not tend to shop around for the best provider. Of 939 people interviewed by the National Centre for Social Research for the Ministry of Justice Baseline Survey to Assess the Impact of Legal Services Reform, more than a third had used legal services in the last three years. Nine out of 10 said they had received a good service, although a quarter said the work took “too long” and was “too expensive”. Ten per cent experienced a problem or issue with the service but only two per cent made a formal complaint.
The most commonly used types of legal services were conveyancing and will writing (mentioned by 50% and 27% of respondents, respectively). Some 17% of respondents used legal services for probate, 15%
for family matters and 11% for accident or injury claims.
